I went to Woodstock for what was to be my second 80km endurance ride. A lady named Virginia very kindly loaned me one of her horses - a sweet 6yr old arabian mare called Naomi. Virginia was going to be riding with me on another one of her horses that she was trying to get to yellow logbook. I was happy with that because obviously I had never ridden Naomi before and Virginia would know her own horse pretty well, so a set of experienced eyes was quite welcome.
So... I arrived at base and met up with Virginia. We went through registration etc and proceeded to walk the horses over to be vetted. On the way Virginia suggested we trot the horses to get them loosened up. So off we trotted and at that point it became apparent that her horse was not 100%. Closer inspection showed that the horse was tight in the shoulder and not moving evenly and it would have been pointless to even attempt the ride. The decision was made for Virginia to withdraw from the ride which meant that eek!!! I was going to be riding a strange horse on my own for 80kms!
I took Naomi for a quick ride that afternoon and got to feel what she was like. She was a lovely girl, very forward and willing, but still young and a little unsure of herself. But with a bit of encouragement from me she did everything I asked and tried her little heart out. She was fit and ready to go so yep, I decided to do it! We headed off at 5am in the dark - a new experience for Naomi who handled it like a veteran. I joined up with a mother and daughter pair who were going about the same speed as I was and we set off down the track. The first hour was dark as dark can be, just the glow from our headlamps showing us the way. We followed the reflective arrows along the track and onto private property where we picked our way through the paddocks at a brisk trot.
The first leg of the ride was 47km and we got through in 4hrs 13mins. Naomi breezed through vetting, looking as if she had just come back from a stroll. Her heart rate was 36 at pre-ride and she pulsed in at 36 at the first vet check... doesn't get much better than that. So it was back to the yards to saddle up before heading out for the second leg. The second leg was 33km long but it was already late morning and the sun was climbing. Fortunately there were plenty of clouds around to give us a break from the sun, but we still rode more cautiously, giving the horses plenty of time to eat and drink.
We got back in 3hrs 16mins for a total ride time of 7hrs 29mins. Once again Naomi the little champion looked fresh as a daisy at final vetting, pulsing in at 41 with A's overall, successfully completing her (and my) second 80km ride! I went home tired but happy with my second ride buckle, one step closer to my goal of becoming a qualified endurance rider!
No comments:
Post a Comment